


Casual

by eridol



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Post-War, fwb to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25456972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eridol/pseuds/eridol
Summary: Kakashi had assumed that the relationship between him and The Mizukage would be nothing but casual at first. That was what he had wanted, after all, but with every day that passed, he fell more and more in love with her. So, he wanted to change it... But how was he supposed to do that after all this time?
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Terumi Mei
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	Casual

The scent of smoke mixed with sugar flooded Kakashi's nostrils as he rolled over in bed, utterly entranced. Long, auburn hair was what faced him, as Mei was rolled over to avoid looking at him- the usual, though he still knew that those seafoam-hued eyes were open, knew that she wasn't asleep even if she was pretending to be.

The Hokage sighed and reached forward to take a strand of that long, red hair to twirl with his finger before propping himself up by resting one elbow on the mattress.

"You know, I'm not entirely sure why we do this," He spoke after what felt like a minute too long. She rolled back over to face him, the blue duvet barely covering the soft swell of her breasts and stopping just above them.

"What do you mean?" She questioned, though she probably knew full well what he meant.

The two laid in silence for a moment. Kakashi stared at the Mizukage expectantly in hopes that she'd reveal she knew more than she was letting on about what he had said, but either she was waiting for him to elaborate because she was confused or because she was too embarrassed to admit the truth about their arrangement; the truth that had been building up and festering for a couple of years now.

After waiting for what he knew was way too long, Kakashi decided to clarify what he had wanted to convey for the sake of moving the conversation along. He wanted to find an end to this- whether that be her accepting his feelings and going along with it or rejecting him and leaving his apartment.

"We get along just fine," The silver-haired man muttered. "Why don't we skip the awkward morning-after conversation that always ends with you leaving way too soon and go on a date instead?"

It had been a routine for years now. After the tension had boiled between them during one particular meeting between Kages and resulted in them heatedly tumbling into Kakashi's hotel room, they'd agreed to keep it casual; a friendship between two people with similar jobs that included the occasional hookup on the rare occasion that they actually saw each other.

That was the thing, though. The war had ended, the villages were making peace with each other, Kakashi saw Mei a lot more than he had before, and he had caught feelings. He'd told himself when he was younger that he'd never fall in love, never make the mistake of getting attached to someone again, but he was head over heels before he could even think to correct it. Plus, he'd healed since back then. The climax of his life seemed to be over, the danger seemed to be gone, and just _maybe_ it would be okay for him to find someone to be happy with.

Over the past few years, that someone had slowly become Mei, even if how she saw their relationship might've been different than how he saw it.

"A... Date?" The question fell from in between kiss-bruised lips, uncertainty and confusion lacing the tone of the woman who was usually so bold and confident in her speech.

"A date," He reiterated.

"You remember the agreement we made at the beginning of this whole thing," Mei reminded him, and of course, he remembered. He was the dumbass who'd insisted on it being casual in the first place, both afraid of commitment due to his abandonment issues and afraid that Mei was way too out of his league to want anything to do with him in a serious manner. He was better now, though, and he wanted to take things further.

"Sure I do, but we both know that it's okay for some agreements to be altered, right?"

"I suppose you're right."

It was dark in the room, but Kakashi could still see Mei's face due to the minimal amounts of moonlight that poured in through his cracked blinds; graced with a small smile that met her green eyes, her lips kiss-bruised and lipstick smeared due to their earlier activities. She wasn't uncomfortable or angry, rather seeming relieved, so Kakashi figured that was a good sign.

"Then stay," He murmured and snuck a hand under the covers to rest it on the woman's waist before wrapping an arm around her small body and pulling her into him. "Stay the night and let's go on a date in the morning."

"You don't care what the people will say?" Mei questioned, resting a hand on the side of his face and running a thumb over his cheekbone.

"Why would I?" He scoffed as he placed a hand on top of hers. "I didn't want this job anyways, it was basically forced on me... And you're about to pass the hat. I can see that you're at a point where you want to live your own life."

"Perceptive as always, I see," Mei grinned, and then leaned in to rest her head on Kakashi's chest. Legs tangled with legs, arms around each other, and warm skin pressed flush against warm skin, the silver-haired man felt his eyes flutter shut at the comforting feeling that had him close to falling asleep right there. "I'll indulge you. Let's go to sleep, and then first thing in the morning, we can go on a date."

~

Kakashi had been ecstatic about the date with Mei at Ichiraku the following day.

Keywords; _had been._

The morning had gone perfectly fine- great, even. They'd woken up, and for the first time ever, Kakashi had been able to simply enjoy Mei's presence and sleep in with her cuddled up to him without her scrambling to get up, shower, get dressed, and leave like she always had before.

When both of them finally got around to getting out of bed, it was past noon, so they'd decided that their date would be getting lunch at Ichiraku Ramen before Mei had to go back to The Mist Village.

Currently, Kakashi and Mei were sitting at Ichiraku sharing a good conversation about the restaurant's history. Kakashi had fallen in love with her for many reasons, some complex and some simple, but one of them was that she always had good input no matter what the conversation was. Whether it was serious, funny, or casual, she'd always been good at talking to people and making them interested in what she had to say.

They'd already finished their food, so now they were just talking- at least until-

"Kakashi-Sensei, I-"

Naruto's voice caught his attention, so he turned around, only to see Sakura slapping a hand over his mouth to shut him up. Naruto was walking on one side of her while Sasuke was on the other, but the three quickly stopped when Sakura began to speak.

"Naruto, shut up! Can't you see he's on a date?" The pink-haired woman asked, looking at Kakashi and Mei, and then at Naruto again. She grabbed the blonde by the arm and began to drag him away with Sasuke matching their pace. "C'mon!"

Unfortunately, Kakashi and Mei both caught the tail-end of Team Seven's conversation as they disappeared from sight, one particularly sharp comment from Sasuke making him cringe under his mask and sink into his seat.

"A date? It's Kakashi, we know he isn't like that... Plus, I don't get how someone could date him when they haven't even seen his face, Sakura, I..."

Before he could hear the rest of it, they were out of earshot, but the damage had already been done. Kakashi let out an awkward laugh and crossed his arms where he sat as Mei shot him a smug glance. His cheeks began to burn red at that.

"How embarrassing..."

"For someone who was so enthusiastic about this date, you seem to be getting flustered," Mei teased and lightly pushed his shoulder.

"It's because of my students..." The silver-haired man rolled his eyes before continuing. "Honestly, you should hear all the things they've said about my face."

"Spill."

"They think I have buck teeth, no nose, and or blimp lips. When they were younger, they participated in scheme after scheme to try to get me to take my mask off."

"Why _do_ you still wear your mask after all this time?" The redhead asked.

Kakashi paused for a moment to think about that- it was a valid question, after all. It had started with his father having him wear it to hide his identity when they went certain places, he'd kept it as a child to hide the features that looked exactly like those of Sakumo, who was considered the village failure who had committed suicide, and then he'd kept it in the Anbu to keep his identity a secret. After he started teaching, he hadn't really needed it, but after he became Hokage? Everyone already knew who he was, they knew his history, so there was no point in hiding anymore, but he still did from most people. The only ones who'd seen his face were Mei, Guy, Iruka, and Tsunade. Showing his face to everyone just felt... Weird, and he didn't plan on making a habit out of it any time soon.

"Well, at first I had my reasons, but... Now it's mostly just to screw with them and everyone else in the village."

"You're evil," The Mizukage laughed. "Love that."

"Mei," Kakashi smiled under his mask and moved a hand to subtly hold one of hers, a bit surprised when she locked their fingers and tilted her head at him.

"Yes?"

"Let's do this more often."

To his delight, she held his hand a little tighter and nodded.

"I'd like that."

~~

Months passed.

Kakashi was taking a break from his work in the Hokage's office to walk around the village, a book in hand. It was a nice day for reading and getting some sun, at least until a certain blond appeared out of nowhere to walk next to him in the- thankfully- secluded part of the village near the training grounds.

"Naruto, what's up?"

"So! You and the Mizukage, huh?" Naruto questioned, throwing an arm over the silver-haired man's shoulder, and he found himself freezing in place. Still, he tried to act calm and collected as he slowly shut his book and shot the Jinchuriki a look.

It was true; him and the Mizukage were dating... Or, he thought they were dating. They hadn't put a label on it, hadn't said the 'L' word, but they went out on dates, kissed, and had sex regularly, so he figured that was at least _something_. He wasn't ashamed of Mei or anything- it was the exact opposite- but he didn't know what she thought about their relationship, and he didn't want to run around telling people that they were dating or that she was his girlfriend when he didn't even really know for sure _what_ they were.

So, he decided to lie- or at least try to skirt around the subject when other people asked about it. 

He was the Hokage. Most people feared or respected him enough to not dig their noses into his business. The only exceptions to that were his Mei, Guy, and of course, his students.

"...What are you talking about?"

"C'mon, Kakashi-Sensei, everyone's talking about it!" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive way that made Kakashi want to kill himself right then and there, but again, he tried to stay calm and collected. "Y'know what I mean."

"Alright, so me and Mei- I mean, me and _the Mizukage_ -"

"I knew it!" Naruto cheered.

"We might have a thing going on, but don't get too excited," Kakashi warned, holding his hands up defensively and sighing. What was he even supposed to say at this point? "It's just... Casual dates. I think."

"Casual? It's been going on for months! Everyone sees how you look at her- you guys seem serious!"

"I've gotta go."

"What, ditching me for another date, Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto teased, clearly unaware that what he had asked had hit the nail right on the head.

"Yes, actually, I am. See you later, Naruto."

With that, he shrugged Naruto's arm off of his shoulder, and then, he was off.

~~~

Another month passed. Naruto's questioning of their relationship had made Kakashi think about it more in-depth, and honestly, he wasn't sure about things, but that was okay. He was happy with what he had, though sometimes, his feelings slipped in one way or another- whether it be him holding on a little too long when they hugged or staring at her for just a little too long when they were on dates.

Currently, they were laying in Mei's bed. He'd had a meeting with her in The Mist Village (that was totally political and not an excuse for them to see each other) and headed home with her immediately after, going through their usual routine of flirting on the way there until they got to the house and tumbled into the bed together.

"Fuck," Kakashi whispered as he trailed his lips up the length of Mei's neck, then planted kisses along her jawline, finally stopping when her lips met his and captured them for a kiss. Her hands were in his hair, threading through the silvery locks. "You're amazing."

"What's with all the passion lately?" She asked between kisses, which had Kakashi pulling back just a bit. He paused and wrapped his arms even tighter around her waist so she would be flush against him.

"Maybe I'm just passionate about you, is that a problem?" He murmured, nuzzling into the older Kage's neck.

"No, but it's certainly out of character."

"Not when it comes to people I love," As soon as the words fell from in between his lips, they both froze, and he instantly shot back, dread filling his being. Mei was looking at him with wide eyes and an expression he couldn't read as she pulled the blankets to cover her chest... He'd killed the mood, hadn't he? "Oh. Can't say this was how I expected that one to come out."

"I can't say I ever expected it to come out at all," Mei spoke, face burning bright red. Her tone was impossible to decipher. Kakashi supposed he understood- they'd been making out post-sex, probably about to go for another round, only for him to confess his feelings without any warning whatsoever.

"Is that a no?" The words were laced with the nervousness that was making his heart beat way faster than it should've been as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

"I love you too, I just thought that..."

"I wouldn't be interested because of our jobs?"

"Something like that."

"You should know I care more about you than I do about my reputation, Mei. I'm sick of us just being what we agreed to all those years back..." He scoffed, and then laughed as he thought back to the first night they'd spent together- back when he'd insisted on keeping it 'casual' like an idiot. "Something casual. I feel stupid for saying that now."

"We don't have to be something casual if you don't want to be, Kakashi," Mei smiled and rested her hands on his chest before looking up at him. Her words mixed with the love swirling around in her seafoam eyes nearly made Kakashi melt. "Let's make it official."

"Yeah?" He asked, breathless.

"Yeah."

She nodded, and then, he was pulling her close again as a sigh of relief fell from his lips.

They weren't going to be stuck as a casual relationship like he'd thought, after all. 


End file.
